Sen. Bennet wants money used for wildfire prevention, not fighting

WASHINGTON — With wildfires getting more destructive at a time when federal dollars to help fight them are dwindling, state and local officials need more cash — and flexibility — to throw toward prevention efforts, Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet said Tuesday.

The three most destructive fires in Colorado's history hit the state in 2012 and 2013. Nationally, the six most destructive fire seasons in the past 50 years have occurred since 2000.

Federal forest officials say they are increasingly using their budgets to fight fires, rather than prevent them by clearing dense forests and conducting controlled burns.

"Unfortunately, Washington budget politics coupled with real-time necessities on the ground has resulted in exactly the opposite approach," said Bennet, who chaired the Senate Agricultural subcommittee hearing on wildfire prevention and suppression costs. "It's a textbook example of penny-wise and pound-foolish. And it has to change."

Bennet urged the Obama administration to devote more money to fire mitigation, which would save the federal government from devoting so much money to fighting fires.

From 2002 to 2012, when drought ravaged much of the country, the Forest Service borrowed from other parts of its budget six times to pay for fire-suppression costs.

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One Congressional Budget Office study found that for every $1 spent on fire prevention, the government saves more than $5 by avoiding catastrophic fires.

Forest Service Deputy Chief Jim Hubbard said the wildfire season has grown longer and more aggressive since 2000. Finding the money every year to fight an increasing number of dangerous wildfires is a challenge, he said.

El Paso County Commissioner Sallie Clark told the panel $30 million has been spent in her area on recovery, flash-flood mitigation and water-system restoration after the devastating Waldo Canyon fire. Nearly 350 families lost their homes in that 2012 fire.

Clark urged lawmakers to prioritize preventing fires, as well as fighting them.

"Thousands of acres of dead or dying trees adjacent to urban neighborhoods are a recipe for the kind of disaster we experienced," she said.

This year, Bennet introduced a deficit-neutral measure that awards competitive grants to states that funnel resources to fire mitigation.